Yvonne's Blog

Magical Adventures Await

Interview by Kimberley Shead Part 2

I had the privilege of being interviewed by Kimberley Shead, an urban fantasy author who lives in South East London. We've been fortunate to have connected over our love of reading, writing, and learning about the writing industry; and are enjoying being on this journey together.

Writer's Secrets (part 2)

Being a full-time writer is the desire of many who pen every day and send their words out into the world with one wish, to have an impact.

Our guest today is no exception. Yvonne Carder is a writer, with a full time day job, who I was fortunate to meet through our mutual online mentor Joanna Penn, check out The Creative Penn website for more on Joanna.

Yvonne kindly offered to share her writing journey with us as well as an insight into her life and a peek into her mind. This is the second part of a two part interview.

Enjoy!

​Q6. Which character have you enjoyed writing about the most? For what reasons?

​I’ve actually enjoyed writing about my villain quite a bit. Her given name is Isabelle Sophia DeLorraine. She is a power hungry sorceress who could care less about the consequences of her actions. It’s been fun writing about all the selfish, powerful things that she can do. I want her to change into a force for good, but she definitely did not do that in this novel. Sometimes no matter how hard we want to change a character it just won’t happen unless it’s what’s right for them. I can’t wait to see what she has the ability to do in future novels.

Q7. Who is your ideal reader?

​My ideal reader for Luminata is someone who likes fantasy fiction and young adult novels. I actually am not sure how best to describe this reader other than someone like me. Someone that likes Six of Crows, Mercy Thompson, Harry Potter, The Artifact Hunters, Outlander, Anita Blake, The Beautiful Demons Series, The Otherworld Series, and Jill Kismet. A reader with a penchant for magic, adventure, and interesting characters would probably be my ideal reader.

Q8. Where would you like to see yourself in five years from now?

I would love to be a full time author entrepreneur. It’s been a dream of mine to not have a traditional 9-5 job. In 5 years I see myself having published at least 4 novels, ideally 5; so 1 a year. In 5 years it would be great if I could have a home somewhere that has more than 2 seasons and doesn’t suffer from endless droughts. (California is just too brown for me the last few years.)​I would love to be able to supplement my income by speaking at conferences, teaching online for veterinary technology, or doing relief work at hospitals. I don’t think I could ever totally give up working in veterinary medicine, I love it too much; but I’d be happy to not work quite so hard at it.

Q9. If you had the opportunity to invite four people of your choice to dinner who would you chose and why?

That’s a great question. I would love to sit at a dinner table with Albert Einstein, Stephen Hawking, Joanna Penn and J. M. Barrie. (Can I sneak Carrie Fischer in too?)

I’ve always been in awe of Albert Einstein and I think it would be so interesting to discuss his view of the world. My favorite quote of his is: ‘Insanity is the repetition of something over and over again, and expecting different results.’

Stephen Hawking has an amazing sense of humor and brain. I watched the movie based on his life ‘The Theory of Everything’ and if half of it is accurate it blows my mind. He would bring some hilarity to the table I’m sure.

I would ask Joanna Penn to come since she is someone that I greatly admire and would be honored to be like some day. I also think that she is someone who could geek out with me while sitting at a table with these people.

I love all things Peter Pan, so inviting J. M. Barrie to the party is a must. He created a story that has transcended time. It is still so relevant today and I would ask him how he was able to tap into the raw realness of those emotions of youth.

Why would I sneak Carrie Fischer in? First of all, it’s Princess Leia. Secondly, Carrie Fischer was known for her crazy personality and she seems like she’d get the party really started. Besides she’s a pretty amazing woman in her own right.​So this would be my crazy dinner party: science meets art. Sounds like my kind of party all right!

Q10. What piece of advice would you give someone who has just started tentatively gathering ideas for their first novel?

First of all: Congratulations! You took a step in a direction that will lead you to self discovery and growth. KEEP GOING! Give yourself concrete goals and self accountability. You don’t have to share these goals, but you can even if it’s just to one person or your cat.

Second: figure out how you best write. Are you a plotter or a pantser?

If you’re a plotter like I am, then I recommend a minimum of 2 books for you:

I just recently got Scrivener and this is a great resource for both plotters and pantsers; but the easy ability to move scenes is something that I can see being very beneficial for pantsers

Third: I recommend listening to Joanna Penn’s podcasts at The Creative Penn, as she’s honest and transparent about the publishing industry. She has an incredible amount of knowledge on her website that is free and invaluable. You will learn tons.

Joanna said something that helps keep me going everyday: Being an author entrepreneur is a marathon, not a sprint. Most of us won’t be fortunate to have the breakout million dollar success stories, so we have to work at it every day. Create a backlog of novels to build your passive income over the years and you will become successful.​And finally: find a community of like-minded people. Having someone you can talk to about what you’re going through is important. It also helps for reviewing what works and what doesn’t if you have someone going through it with you too. You can recommend things to each other, or talk about what to steer clear of. A local authors group if that’s an option is great. If not, find people online. Immerse yourself in this world and you’ll slowly absorb it until it becomes natural to you.

​I hope this insight into my brain hasn’t scared you off too much.

Thank you for the interview and I hope that Magical Adventures Find You!

​Guest Blog Author: Kimberley Shead

Kimberley Shead is in the process of writing her first novel in the ‘Worlds Collide’ Urban Fantasy series.

A wife and mother of six grown up children, she has been a native of South East London, England her whole life.

As a child she was an avid listener of oral story telling shared by her Father, most evenings, when he returned from work. This led to a love of writing and performing plays with her childhood friend, to their long suffering families.

Reading became an interest in her early teens. Firstly, through her obsession with teen magazines then tackling the classics. Later it was fantasy and crime novels that kept her awake half the night, in excitement and anticipation of a new world, fascinating characters or suspenseful plots.

Finally, and with much rebellion, Kimberley had to grow up. She achieved a BA Hons in English Literature and now works in Education.